For a second day Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces bombed the city of Homs, which is currently controlled by rebels. Representatives for the rebels say they are ready for a long battle.

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis,?Reuters / June 30, 2013

A Free Syrian Army fighter walks with his weapon through the damaged Khalid bin al Walid Mosque in Homs Sunday.

Yazan Homsy/Reuters

Enlarge

President Bashar al-Assad's forces pounded Sunni Muslim rebels in the city of Homs with artillery and from the air on Sunday, the second day of an offensive to expand loyalist control over Syria's strategic centre, activists said.

They said rebels defending the old centre of Homs and five adjacent Sunni districts had largely repelled a ground attack on Saturday by Assad's forces but reported fresh clashes and deaths within the city on Sunday.

The offensive follows steady military gains by Assad's forces, backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militants, in villages in Homs province and towns close to the Lebanese border.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Assad must halt his "brutal assault" on Homs. Gulf countries, which back the rebels, urged Lebanon to stop "parties" interfering in the Syria conflict, a reference to Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Opposition sources and diplomats said the loyalist advance had tightened the siege of Homs and secured a main road link to Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon and to army bases in Alawite-held territory near the Syrian coast, the main entry point for Russian arms that have given Assad a key advantage in firepower.

At least 100,000 people have been killed since the Syrian revolt against four decades of rule by Assad and his late father erupted in March 2011, making the uprising the bloodiest of the Arab Spring popular revolutions against entrenched autocrats.

Sunni Jihadists, including al Qaeda fighters from Iraq, have also entered the fray.

ALARM

The loyalist advances have alarmed international supporters of the rebels, leading the United States to announce it will step up military support. Saudi Arabia has accelerated deliveries of sophisticated weaponry, Gulf sources say.

The Sham News Network opposition monitoring group said fighters belonging to the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front had killed five loyalist troops in fighting in the Bab Hud district of Old Homs on Sunday.

Activists said one woman and a child had been killed in an airstrike on the old city, home to hundreds of civilians.

Video footage taken by the activists, which could not be immediately verified, showed the two bodies being carried in blankets as well as a man holding a wounded child with a huge gash in his head.

Rebel fighters also fought loyalist forces backed by tanks in the old covered market, which links the old city with Khalidiya, a district inhabited by members of tribes who have been at the forefront of the armed insurgency.

"After failing to make any significant advances yesterday, the regime is trying to sever the link between Khalidiya and the old city," Abu Bilal, one of the activists, said from Homs.

"We are seeing a sectarian attack on Homs par excellence, The army has taken a back role. Most of the attacking forces are comprised of Alawite militia being directed by Hezbollah."

The Alawites are an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that have controlled Syria since the 1960s, when members of the sect took over the army and the security apparatus which underpin the power structure in the mainly Sunni country.

URBAN WARFARE

Located at a major highway intersection 88 miles north of Damascus, Homs is a majority Sunni city. But a large number of Alawites have moved into mostly new and segregated districts in recent decades, drawn by army and security jobs.

Lebanese security forces said Hezbollah appeared to be present in the rural areas surrounding Homs but there was no indication that it was fighting in the labyrinth streets of Homs, where it could take heavy casualties.

Anwar Abu al-Waleed, an activist, said rebel brigades were prepared to fight a long battle, unlike in Qusair and Tel Kalakh, two towns in rural Homs near the border with Lebanon that fell to loyalist forces in recent weeks.

"We are talking about serious urban warfare in Homs. We are not talking about scattered buildings in an isolated town but a large urban area that provides a lot of cover," he said.

Britain's Hague expressed concern over the escalation of fighting in Homs, saying in a statement: "I call upon the Assad regime to cease its brutal assault on Homs and to allow full humanitarian access to the country."

The Syrian conflict has aggravated neighbouring Lebanon's own complex sectarian rivalry, triggering fighting between Alawite pro-Assad and Sunni anti-Assad militia in the northern city of Tripoli that has killed dozens.

Gulf foreign ministers meeting in Bahrain urged the Lebanese government to "commit to distancing itself from the Syrian crisis and to prevent any Lebanese parties from interfering in (Syria) in order to enable it to confront the brutal attacks and crimes conducted by the regime and its allies."

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

A pair of toy animals are seen as part of memorial outside the home, Monday, May 20, 2013, where Elvira Campos, 10, was shot and killed in North Highlands, Calif. Campos had been watching television with her parents Saturday night, when at least two gunmen walked up to the door of the home and began shooting. About a dozen shots were fired, killing Campos' and wounding her father and mother. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A pair of toy animals are seen as part of memorial outside the home, Monday, May 20, 2013, where Elvira Campos, 10, was shot and killed in North Highlands, Calif. Campos had been watching television with her parents Saturday night, when at least two gunmen walked up to the door of the home and began shooting. About a dozen shots were fired, killing Campos' and wounding her father and mother. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Bullet holes are seen in the front window, Monday, May 20, 2013, of the home, where Elvira Campos, 10, was shot and killed in North Highlands, Calif. Campos had been watching television with her parents Saturday night, when at least two gunmen walked up to the door of the home and began shooting. About a dozen shot were fired, killing Campos' and wounding her father and mother. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

NORTH HIGHLANDS, Calif. (AP) ? A devastated father says he has no idea why gunmen targeted his house over the weekend, firing a barrage of bullets that instantly killed his 10-year-old daughter as she watched television from a chair near the front picture window.

With his own wounded arm in a sling, Ernesto Campos came to look for his wallet Monday in a house whose front was scarred by at least a dozen bullet holes. Blood soaked the carpet and front porch, and the stuffing was blown out of the chair where his daughter, Elvira, had been sitting Saturday night.

"I don't know. I don't know," Campos told The Associated Press when asked why someone would target his home 11 miles from downtown Sacramento. "Somebody came here from another place. I don't know."

Both Campos and his wife, Imelda, suffered minor physical wounds, and both are too distraught to return to the home in a tidy working class neighborhood populated with young families with children.

Sacramento County sheriff's officials suspected that a family member had gang ties. A 14-year-old brother was at home at the time of the shooting and a 20-year-old was away. Another brother who is 23 lives in the Mexican state of Michoacan, where the family came from 23 years ago.

"They just don't want to be here. It's too sad for them," said Alejandra Vega, who has a daughter with the Campos' 23-year-old son.

Vega described Elvira as a happy child who was always smiling, just as she was in a portrait framed on top of the television where the family had gathered Saturday night.

Authorities were searching for at least two gunmen whom they believed walked up to the front of the house and opened fire.

"Whoever these gunmen were, they were directly outside the front door," Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jason Ramos said Sunday.

At least a dozen shots were fired from two guns.

"This was not a drive-by. These gunmen approached the house and shot inside," Ramos said.

"You have to be hard pressed to think a 10-year-old girl was the intended target."

The family had lived in the home for less than a year. They are now staying with relatives and are afraid for their faces to be shown.

Sheriff's officials were also investigating a separate shooting Sunday morning that took place not far from the home. The victim of that shooting ? a 32-year-old man who survived ? was "definitely a gang member" and detectives were looking at the possibility the shootings were related, Ramos said.

___

Associated Press writer John Marshall contributed to this report from San Francisco.

Iraqi security force members inspect the site of a car bomb attack in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 20, 2013. Two car bombings in the southern city of Basra, killing and wounding dozens of people, police said. Iraq has seen a spike of attacks, including bombings hitting both Sunni and Shiite civilian targets over the last week. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

Iraqi security force members inspect the site of a car bomb attack in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 20, 2013. Two car bombings in the southern city of Basra, killing and wounding dozens of people, police said. Iraq has seen a spike of attacks, including bombings hitting both Sunni and Shiite civilian targets over the last week. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

Civilians react at the site of a car bomb attack in front of a crowded popular restaurant in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 20, 2013. Two car bombings in the southern city of Basra, killing and wounding dozens of people, police said. Iraq has seen a spike of attacks, including bombings hitting both Sunni and Shiite civilian targets over the last week. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

Iraqi security force members and civilians gather at the site of a car bomb attack in front of a crowded popular restaurant in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 20, 2013. Two car bombings in the southern city of Basra, killing and wounding dozens of people, police said. Iraq has seen a spike of attacks, including bombings hitting both Sunni and Shiite civilian targets over the last week. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

An Iraqi police officer inspects the site of a car bomb attack in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 20, 2013. Two car bombings in the southern city of Basra, killing and wounding dozens of people, police said. Iraq has seen a spike of attacks, including bombings hitting both Sunni and Shiite civilian targets over the last week. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

Civilians gather at the site of a car bomb attack in front of a crowded popular restaurant in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 20, 2013. Two car bombings in the southern city of Basra, killing and wounding dozens of people, police said. Iraq has seen a spike of attacks, including bombings hitting both Sunni and Shiite civilian targets over the last week. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A string of car bombs and shootings killed at least 57 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq on Monday, officials said, escalating fears of a return to widespread sectarian bloodletting in the country.

The attacks, some of which hit market places and crowded bus stops during the morning rush hour, pushed the death toll in Iraq since Wednesday to more than 200. The bloodshed over the past week has been reminiscent of the retaliatory attacks between Sunnis and Shiites that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006-2007.

Tensions have been worsening since Iraq's minority Sunnis began protesting what they say is mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government. The mass demonstrations, which began in December, have largely been peaceful, but the number of attacks rose sharply after a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq on April 23.

Iraq's Shiite majority, which was oppressed under Saddam Hussein, now controls the levers of power in the country. Wishing to rebuild the nation rather than revert to open warfare, they have largely restrained their militias over the past five years or so as Sunni extremist groups such as al-Qaida have targeted them with occasional large-scale attacks.

But the renewed violence in both Shiite and Sunni areas since late last month has fueled concerns of a return to sectarian warfare.

The worst of Monday's violence took place in Baghdad, where nine car bombs ripped through open-air markets and other areas of Shiite neighborhoods, killing at least 33 people and wounding nearly 130, police officials said.

The surge in bloodshed has exasperated Iraqis, who have lived for years with the fear and uncertainty bred of random violence.

"How long do we have to continue living like this, with all the lies from the government?" asked 23-year-old Baghdad resident Malik Ibrahim. "Whenever they say they have reached a solution, the bombings come back stronger than before."

"We're fed up with them and we can't tolerate this anymore," he added.

The predominantly Shiite city of Basra in southern Iraq was also hit Monday, with two car bombs there ? one outside a restaurant and another at the city's main bus station ? killing at least 13 and wounded 40, according to provincial police spokesman Col. Abdul-Karim al-Zaidi and the head of city's health directorate, Riadh Abdul-Amir.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but such large-scale bombings bear the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The violence also struck Sunni areas, hitting the city of Samarra north of Baghdad and the western province of Anbar, a Sunni stronghold.

A parked car bomb in Samarra went off near a gathering of pro-government Sunni militia who were waiting outside a military base to receive salaries, killing three and wounding 13, while in Anbar gunmen ambushed two police patrols near the town of Haditha, killing eight policemen, police and army officials said.

Also in Anbar, authorities found 13 dead bodies in a remote desert area, officials said. The bodies, which included eight policemen who were kidnapped by gunmen on Friday, had been killed with a gunshot to the head.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

This photo released by the Glendale Police Department shows a black Cadillac that lost control and careened onto the roof of a neighbor's home on Saturday, March 23, 2013 in Glendale, Calif. The Cadillac driver lost control before leaving his driveway, plunging off a hill "onto the roof of his neighbor's house directly below his driveway. (Photo courtesy of Glendale Police Department)

Third Eye Blind

Tilde N?rgaard, a Swedish sixth grader, is still trying to figure out how she got a third eye in her class photo.

150-lb Boulder Crashes Through Car Windshield

This 150-lb boulder crashed through the windshield of a rental car in Sedona, Az. The passengers, Bob Jaczko and Peter Wilson suffered minor cuts.

Kid Has LEGO stuck in nose for three years.

Isaak Lasson can finally breathe easy after three years of sinus problem caused by a single wheel-shaped LEGO that he got stuck up his nose back when he was three.

Scrapyard Destroys Wrong Car

Ben Forrer outside Sita UK, a scrap yard in Coventry, today, 25, 2012. Refer to NTI story NTICRUSH. Ben Forrer looked on in horror as a Coventry scrapyard crushed his van by mistake. Ben Forrer had only left his Citroen Relay for a few minutes as he dropped off an old cooker at the Sita yard, in Longford. But workers mistook the van for scrap and began crushing it in the jaws of a mechanical grabber

Middle Finger Bush

A bush carved into the shape of a middle-finger has landed a gardener into trouble after somebody failed to share his humour over the shrub. The council received a complaint about the shaped bush eight years after it was carved by Richard Jackson, 53, in his front garden. Despite only receiving one complaint, the council have since contacted Richard to alter the bush as it is considered a public offence. But Richard, from Tamworth, Staffs, said his neighbours are backing his pledge to keep the bush and they have even began a Save the Bush campaign to support him. Credit: Caters News

Cathedral Licker

A man has made a 5,000 mile pilgrimage to every Anglican cathedral in England so he can give them a good LICKING. Lawrence Edmonds has staked his claim as Britains first every cathedral licker by tongue tickling an incredible 42 in less than two years. Christian approval, Polish condemnation, and looks of confusion from a flock of Dutch tourists have all been experienced by Lawrence on his epic journey Back in January 2011, Lawrences friend Adam challenged him to a bet- that he couldnt lick every Anglican cathedral in the UK within five years. Credit: Caters News

Baobab Tree Sculpture

Mike De Butts adds the finishing touches to a giant Baobab Tree sculpture entitled 'Under the Baobab', outside the Southbank Centre on May 24, 2012 in London, England. The Pirate Technics' installation is made from a selection of brightly coloured fabrics from around the world, and is part of the Southbank Centre's 'Festival of the World' exhibition, which includes a series of large scale pieces of art that will be in place around the Southbank centre over the Summer.

My Little Ponies

Some of Sarah's ponies. Sarah Butler, 28 from Barnsley, Yorkshire has been collecting 1980's My Little Ponies for 24 years and now has over 1,000 of them as well as having a themed room in her house including My Little Pony curtains, bedspread and other collectables.

Rapunzel Hair

Natasha Moraes de Andrade, 12, is nicknamed Rapunzel because her hair is more than 5 feet long -- just one and a half inches shorter than her height. In March, she planned to cut and sell the locks for some $2,600 to help get her family in Rio De Janeiro out of poverty.

Moscow City Lights

Swirling colors of city lights from a 900ft crane fill the Moscow skyline. Photographer D. Chistoprudov boards the crane, which is being used to build a skyscraper called Federation, and takes pictures over a period of two hours. Chistoprudov, 28, starts taking the swirling snaps around 1am and battles freezing weather to remain completely still so not to ruin the careful process. (Caters News / ZUMA Press)

iPoo

The sleek design, the impressive functionality, the distinctive logo - was it only a matter of time before Apple redesigned the humble toilet with the iPoo? The iPoo is literally a case of toilet humour and Belgrade designer Milos Paripovic makes the tongue-in-cheek claim his work isn't intentionally related to the Apple brand.

Tamaseseri Festival

Naked men wearing only loincloths vie for a wooden treasure ball weighing eight kilos to bring good fortune, during the Tamaseseri festival at Hakozaki shrine in Fukuoka, on Japan's southern island of Kyushu on Jan. 3, 2012. Two teams of farmers and fishermen competed for the rich harvest or largest catch at a festival that dates back some 500 years.

Snow Church

Visitors stand around a snow church just after its inauguration on Dec. 28, 2011 in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany. The circa 25 meters long church was made of 1,400 cubic meters of snow and aims to commemorate the winter of the years 1910/1911, when so much snow fell that believers of Mitterfirmiansreut were no more able to go to church in the neighboring community of Mauth. So they decided to build their own church, made of snow. (Armin Weigel, AFP / Getty Images)

Snow Church

Visitors stand around a snow church just after its inauguration on Dec. 28, 2011 in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany. The circa 25 meters long church was made of 1,400 cubic meters of snow and aims to commemorate the winter of the years 1910/1911, when so much snow fell that believers of Mitterfirmiansreut were no more able to go to church in the neighboring community of Mauth. So they decided to build their own church, made of snow. (Armin Weigel, AFP / Getty Images)

Heine Braeck, 33, from Sarpsborg, Norway, has been without an right arm since he lost it during a freak accident when he was 13. Now he has decided to make the stump look like a dolpin's head with the help of Bulgarian tattooist Valio Ska.

Giant Slipper

A man who ordered a special slipper to fit his oversized foot was sent a size 1,450 - after manufacturers failed to spot a decimal point in his order. Tom Boddingham, 27, has a size 13 right foot while his left is slightly bigger and measures a size 14-and-a-half. But when he ordered his custom-fit slipper manufacturers in China misread size 14.5 and accidently made a whopping 7ft long size 1,450

Eight-year-old girl is world's youngest drag racer

Eight-year-old girl Belle Wheeler has become the youngest drag racer in the world -- just two days after her eighth birthday. The pint-sized dragster then went onto compete against youngsters more than twice her age and qualified for the UK National Finals.

Lawn Mower Endurance Race

Competitors race in the 12-hour Lawn Mower Endurance Race on September 24, 2011 in Billingshurst, England. First started in 1973 as a motorsport that would be accessible to as many as possible, this year's competition included more than 30 teams including some from South Africa, America and Luxembourg.

Pumpkin Art

An employee arranges pumpkins to form a fish at the pumkin exhibition of the asparagus and experience farm Buschmann and Winkelmann in Klaistow near Beelitz, northeastern Germany on August 31, 2011. The exhibition will start on September 1 , 2011, with over 100,000 pumkins in 400 different varieties.

Cable Car High Wire

High wire artist Freddy Nock balances as he walks up on the rope of a Zugspitze cable car in Grainau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011. Nock walked up the 995 meters long rope with an altitude difference of 348 meters aiming at collecting money for the UNESCO. He is attempting to set a new world record by doing seven summits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in seven days. It took him about 90 minutes to arrive on top of Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.

Third Story Exit

A 16-ton salt spreader blasted through the fifth-floor wall of a Queens Sanitation Department garage and came within inches of plummeting 50 feet to the street. The driver survived the spectacular 9:30 am crash, which sent bricks and debris raining down on cars parked outside the Maspeth repair facility, but spent 15 terrified minutes dangling in the cab of the bright orange vehicle. It's unclear how driver Robert Legall, a 10-year Sanitation veteran with a clean record, lost control of the big rig. "There are signs up there warning drivers to slow down," Commissioner John Doherty told the New York Post. "He's familiar with the rules. We think it was just an unfortunate accident."

Speed Record Spins Out

Driver Joe Wales crashes through the surf after veering off course during an attempt on the British land speed record for battery-powered vehicles in the Bluebird Electric on Pendine Sands on August 14, 2011 in Pendine, Wales. Driver Joe Wales and his father, fellow driver Don Wales, come from a famous family who have been setting land and water speed records since 1924. Don holds the current UK record of 137 miles an hour in an electric vehicle.

Giant Cabbage

Harrogate Autumn Flower show Director Martin Fish with a giant cabbage, as he introduced a series of new classes for Giant Vegetables to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Show. Giant onions, tomatoes and many others will all compete for the top prize of the biggest vegetable.

Keep Claer

An incorrectly spelled "Keep Clear" road marking is pictured in Kingswinford, on August 3, 2011 in West Midlands, England.

Etna Volcano lava

Lava spewed from a crater of the giant Etna volcano in the southern Italy island of Sicily on July 30, 2011 in Catania. The lava flown into a valley overnight and did not represent a danger to inhabited areas. Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe at 3,295 metres (10,810 feet) which last eruption was in May.

Killer Plant Eats Bird

An exotic plant expert was stunned when he inspected one of his garden
pitcher plants and discovered it had eaten a blue tit.
Prize winning Nigel Hewitt Cooper one of Britain's leading carnivorous plant
growers, from West Pennard, Somerset, couldn't believe his eyes when he
checked the Nepenthes x mixta or Monkey Cup pitcher and found the dead bird
inside.
Normally the plants which are native to south east Asia consume insects
which thy attract by secreting a sticky, sweet fluid at the bottom of the
pitcher.
Sometimes in the wild they have been known to kill small mammals like mice
but Mr Hewitt Cooper who regularly wins prizes at the Chelsea flower show
says for a cultivate plant to capture a bird is incredible.

Giant Mermaid

A man adjusts a sculpture "Giant Mermaid" on the Alster lake in the northern German city of Hamburg on August 1, 2011. The sculpture is created by art and advertising agency headed by Oliver Voss.

Huge Pastry

People look at a huge khachapuri (Georgian cheese pastry) in central Batumi on July 28, 2011. The cake was baked using 100 eggs, 90 kilograms of cheese, 150 kilograms of flour, has 8 meters length and was eaten within 1minute 32 seconds by people at a street.

Velomobiles

Velomobiles, recumbent bicycles with sleek, colorful outer shells, head for the open road in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 28, 2011. Twenty five riders from Europe and twenty five riders from North America are on a cross-country trip which will finish on the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington D.C. on August 26. The bikers are trying to spread the message that sustainable, clean transportation can be fun.

Bobblehead Bishop

Erie Catholic Bishop Donald W. Trautman has been immortalized in miniature with a bobblehead doll made in his likeness. The bobblehead comes as Trautman prepares to end his tenure as bishop of Erie.

Canadian bubble artist

Canadian bubble artist Yang Fan, who has set world record by packing 118 people inside a soap bubble, performs at the Gazillion bubble show in Beijing on July 19, 2011. Yang has earned international acclaim as a result of his complex displays of "bubble theater". In addition to performing he has developed his own bubble solution formulas and equipment to create bubbles.

Giant Marilyn

Newly-wed bride Magda Villasenor looks at "Forever Marilyn", a sculpture by Seward Johnson, on July 15, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The stainless steel and aluminum sculpture, which stands 26 feet tall and weighs 34,000 pounds, will be on display in Chicago through the spring of 2012. The sculpture was inspired by Marilyn Monroe's iconic scene in the 1955 movie "Seven Year Itch".

Hot Dog Hot Rod

The iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile vehicle is seen outside of the New York Stock Exchange as part of its day-long 75th birthday celebration, Monday, July 18, 2011. To commemorate the milestone, the Oscar Mayer brand rang the closing bell at NYSE. (Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Oscar Mayer)

Harry Potter Corn Maze

An aerial view of Top Pearsy's Maize Maze in the shape of Harry Potter, on July 11, 2011 in York, England. Farmer Tom Pearcy has cut two portraits of Harry Potter in his crop of maize plants. With some subtle differences the two images create the world's largest spot the difference competition. At over 50m in diameter, and cut out of over 1 million living maize plants, the York Maze is the largest 'Maize Maze' in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

Recycled Sailboat

A sail boat made of recycled material makes its maiden voyage to mark World Oceans Day in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

Pontiac Deluxe Six 'Ghost Car'

An extraordinary transparent car could fetch as much as GBP 295,000 when it goes up for auction.The motor, dubbed the 'Ghost Car', is a Pontiac Deluxe Six which has been covered in Plexiglas. The first transparent full-sized car to be made in America, it was built in 1939 by General Motors and chemical company Rohm and Haas. Billed as a vision of the future, it was a sensation at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair and continues to cause a stir today. Just two were ever made and this model, which has a three-speed manual transmission, is thought to be the last of its kind. It has clocked up just 86 miles in its lifetime; and now its set to go on sale for the first time since the early 1980s. It last sold for an undisclosed amount. American auctioneers RM expect it to sell for between $275,000 and $475,000.

Serbian Brides Race

Serbian women take part in a wedding dress race in downtown Belgrade on June 19, 2011. More than fifty "brides" took part in an annual wedding dress race in the Serbian capital, competing for numerous prizes. (Andrej Isakovic, AFP/Getty Images)

World Naked Bike Ride

People take part in the annual "London World Naked Bike Ride" event in central London on June 11, 2011. Now in it's eighth year, the event has seen participation grow from 58 in 2004 to 1,200 in 2009. Taking a route that passes many of London's most famous landmarks, the ride allows those participating to decorate their body with messages of protest against oil dependancy and motor vehicle usage.

Hanging Around

British artist Alice Newstead hangs by shark hooks during her demonstration to protest against shark slaughter in Hong Kong on June 14. The protest was organized by marine conservation group Shark Savers, and supported by Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics who are launching a global campaign to protect the sharks.

Reptile House

Diska Putra, holds one of his snakes in bed at home on June 10, 2011 in Bintan, Indonesia. Putra, 24, cohabitates in Indonesian with a collection of 30 snakes, some of which are deadly poisonous.

Monkey God

An Indian priest walks outside the temple of Hindu monkey God Hanuman in New Delhi early June 12, 2011. The highly popular monkey-god Hanuman known for his strength is worshipped for his unyielding devotion and selfless dedication to the Lord Rama.

Big Baby

Ron Mueck's 'Big Baby' sculpture is displayed in front of Jenny Saville's painting 'Interfacing' at the Masterpieces Exhibition at Christie's on June 13, 2011 in London, England.

Drunken Knight

A would-be knight who tried to woo a maiden by riding into her home on a horse is facing five years behind bars for aggravated burglary. Lovelorn Jan Rudnicki, 40, hatched the scheme to bowl over divorcee Gosia Domoslawska after a night's drinking down his local bar in Jarnoltowka, Poland. But terrified Gosia, 36, dialed 999 when her drunken suitor - stripped to the waist - galloped up her garden path and smashed his way through the front door like a battering ram.

Sideshow Fat Man Dies

Bruce Snowdon, the last sideshow fat man, was honored in a memorial service on Jan. 30, 2010. Snowdon performed as "Harold Huge," and weighed 607 pounds (though by some billing he tipped the scale at 712 pounds). Here he is with fellow sideshow star Peter Terhurne, a fire-eating dwarf.

So, What Do You Do For a Living?

Mexican tattoo artist and trained lawyer Maria Jose Cristerna, known as "Vampire Woman", attends the Fifth International Tattoo Convention in Bogota, Colombia, on June 4, 2011.

It's All Fun And Games...

A Sufi Kalandar (wandering ascetic) performs an act of self torture during devotion at the annual death anniversary of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, India on June 2.

Indian spiritual guru Swami Baba Ramdev

Indian spiritual guru Swami Baba Ramdev performs yoga during his hunger strike at the Pitanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar, some 240kms from New Delhi, on June 7, 2011. India's embattled prime minister on June 7 defended a police crackdown on a peaceful anti-graft demonstration led by a famous yoga guru, saying authorities had been left with no choice.

Kwok Mang Ho

Chinese artist Kwok Mang Ho performs during the 54th International Art Exhibition in Venice on June 1, 2011. The Biennale entitled Illuminazioni that will open to the public from June 4th to November 27th 2011, in the Giardini and the Arsenale exhibition venues, as well as in various other locations around the city.

Chinese Cabbage Art

These glamour models look good enough to eat but will not turn your girlfriend green with envy - because they are made entirely of cabbage. Artist Ju Duoqi created the bizarre sculptures for her project called "The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage". Every body part is made from the vegetable. Ju is from Beijing, China. Pictured, some of Ju's work, made from cabbage leaves.
This is entitled: 'An'
(Ju Duoqi/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Chinese Cabbage Art

These glamour models look good enough to eat but will not turn your girlfriend green with envy - because they are made entirely of cabbage. Artist Ju Duoqi created the bizarre sculptures for her project called "The Fantasies of Chinese Cabbage". Every body part is made from the vegetable. Ju is from Beijing, China. Pictured, some of Ju's work, made from cabbage leaves.
This is entitled: 'Susan'
(Ju Duoqi/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Monday, May 20, 2013

Mark Suster of Los Angeles' GRP Partners is known for his unique insights on the tech and digital media worlds, having famously had success on "both sides of the table" as a repeat entrepreneur turned investor over nearly two decades in the industry. And he hit headlines several times this week, with his viewpoints on acqui-hires (he says they're often very bad) and founders stepping down from the CEO role (he says sometimes, it's the best thing that can happen.)